Assassin’s Creed III Trailer

Did you hear that just now? That was the sound of a fan-girl squealing once again as he; yes he, watches the recently released trailer for Assassin’s Creed III again. My fan-girl squeals do stop however to watch this and soak in as much as possible of this next ‘Creed instalment.

It has been a busy week for Ubisoft and a few leaked images did dampen the surprise a little about the release of the fifth game. But this has me glued to my screen as I re-watch and hope to glimmer as much information as possible. Right, you watch it too and join me below for some thoughts.

As a big fan of the franchise (which is why I’ve dressed as Altair during… well, so far all the Expo’s I’ve been to), and as much as I’m bouncing on the spot with excitement for this next instalment, I can’t help but feel a little let down by what is forecasted for Assassin’s Creed III so far.

I have had no objections with playing games where my home nation is the enemy. If you look through the course of history the Union Flag can be seen far and wide and not always on the morally right side of things. I however can’t see the sense in Ubisoft taking such a turn in launching Assassin’s Creed III with such a specific audience in mind. Throughout my years of gaming I never had any issue with discerning bad guys from good guys, even when attacking the English crusaders, and I don’t just mean Templars in the first game. The previous games achieved this because the assassins were impartial to sides. They did not align with the crusades or with Saladin. In the renaissance the assassins worked to overthrow the corrupt officials in Italy who were the games standard enemy; Templar agents. In Rome it was history’s most sordid pope who was dethroned by the assassins, not, I will point out, the Vatican or any specific army. And even in Istanbul, where the nations of many met, it was the assassins standing to fight the Templars between warring sultans.

So to see such an outright stand of “America is great” comes as a shock from a franchise which constantly likes to remind us at the start of each iteration how it’s multicultural and impartial. I’m not saying Ubisoft is taking sides, but I feel that what made Assassin’s Creed great was its ability to look at history and from that perspective the world as a whole and the greater good. Not about a specific point in time and aligning with one of two warring sides.

I feel I’m going to lose my favourite mini game of “lead the two opposing factions in revelations into mid street brawls.” Obviously at this point there’s no way for me to comment on gameplay aspects or how the towns and woodlands are expected to be incorporated into the game, but it’s safe to say there will be high contrasts. Something the trailer shows with dense trees and open battlefields.

Looking specifically at the assassin, there is no doubt of his Native American origins and we can see his iconic weapon of choice. Which is very nice, meaning ‘Messer Auditore’ will keep the dual hidden blades as a signature weapon. Even though the trailer reveals nothing in the use of the bow, mercifully other screenshots have confirmed he draws the string and we won’t be seeing another situation like Altair and the lack of crossbow.

I suppose I would say in summary that with such a jump from Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood to Revelations, I’m so far disappointed in what I feel are downgraded visuals found in this cinematic for Assassin’s Creed III. As a comparison, the trailer for Revelations moved me so much and the music was awe-inspiring. But then again this is only the first trailer, which feels more basic in its simple confirmation of setting scenery and story. Perhaps after four games already I’m just a little annoyed at not being let loose properly with Desmond. Especially with his ending line from Revelations being, “I know what I need to do.” Perhaps Ubisoft, you should let us do it!